About Me

I read, cook, make art and try to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to be doing with my life. I chronicle it here. You can contact me at daphneannphillips(at)gmail(dot)com. If you'd like some design work, please contact me at www.daphnephillipsdesign.com

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Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Again, Eva has a great post. This week, it's about Library Loot. Coincidentally, I just went to the library today and overindulged (is that possible, to overindulge at the library?). I just got a big list of recommendations from Dark Carnival and a couple of other sites, so I was armed and ready. Seems to be tending towards the dark and mysterious, but oh well.

Here is what I got:

* The Grotesque, a gothic mystery set in England. A paralyzed master, evil butler, and black humor throughout. What could be better?

* Hostage To The Devil, a non-fiction recounting of 'actual' stories of possessions. I am a sucker for this kind of thing.* The Trickster, another dark mystery. Publisher's Weekly says, "A seamless fusion of the supernatural and the psychological distinguishes this page-turning first novel, an impressive distillation of the Native Canadian experience"

* Hotel Transylvania, a book I just happened upon while browsing. An older gothic vampire-romance tale (the first in a long series) that I hadn't heard of before. Looks like good fun.

And two others I picked up with Terri in mind, but will probably browse as well:

In other news, I'm finally feeling better. I feel like a new person today. I'm not sure why. Detox diet? Catching up on sleep? Burned out all the grouchy carbons? I don't know, but I'll take it. I feel more like myself. A tired self, but not a homicidal and/or suicidal self. Yesterday I felt like a monster. A depressed, exhausted, teary, achy, puffy, annoyed/annoying, irritable grouchy monster. Today I'm in a decent mood, which compared to how I have been feeling, feels like a freaking fantastic mood!

And Terri is feeling a little better too. Blessings all around. Thank God. We were on the verge of going under, for awhile. I don't even know what I mean by that, but it wouldn't be pretty in any case.

7 comments:

2) What is it with the Wizard of Oz that lends itself to strange retellings?! lol I really enjoyed Wicked, but the first few chapters almost had me closing the book. This version sounds a bit too dark for me (I clicked through on amazon). But that Hotel Transylvania book loks like fun: I'll be watching for your review!

3) I keep meaning to read Thomas Moore and then forgetting. Since you've read most of his books, is there one that's better to start with? Have you read Joseph Campbell? I'm a big fan of him. :)

I know what you mean about Wicked, but I ended up loving that book. I haven't read any of his other recent books -- I tried Lost and another one and didn't really love them, but I hear there are more Oz books? I should try it. I think this retelling is kind of dark. We'll see how it goes.

Thomas Moore: I would start with Care of the Soul. And I have read Joseph Campbell and *love* him. His interview with Bill Moyer made a huge impact on me in college, and I've loved most everything I've read of his. The TV interviews are fun, too.

I'm anxious to start the Hotel Transylvania, too. I guess it's a big series, we'll see how it goes! I think I'm starting with The Grotesque.

I love Moore's Care of the Soul too. Sometimes I just open it to a page and let it refresh me. I've read it several times. if you haven't read Women Who Run With the Wolves, I highly recommend it - it takes fairy tales and ties it with themes in women's lives. Really good psychological and myth work that is still easy to get through. Plus, how can anyone hate an author who says women are made to be different shapes and sizes?